In her essay titled The Value of Not Understanding Everything, Grace Paley presents the idea that artists live and work withiin a world that we don't completely understand while critics of art live within the pages of fiction, the lines of poetry, the strokes of paintings ... to point out the merits of the art at hand, based on what the critic already understands about the world. Artists dare to imagine, illuminate, and create even when we can't fully figure out the conundrum of the human condition ... embracing the tension and the mystery of it all ... the love, lust, hate, disdain, and all the rest.

Paley also states that art is synonymous to justice ... which she defines as "the illumination of what isn't known, the lighting up of what is under a rock, of what has been hidden." This justice happens because artists work through the power of imagination. Like really and deeply imagining what it's like to be someone other than myself. Empathy.

Here we are. And here I am humbly bowing down to audacious artists ... who work relentlessly to light up what has been hidden as we deploy the power of imagination/empathy ... with the strength of character to occasionally say "I don't know" ... and engage the tension within those beautiful words to embrace the light and pursue the creation of justice. Fiat Lux.

November 10, 2017

581 Tangerine Dreams8x10 inches :: original oil painting on gessobordClick here to Bid or Buy---I had the pleasure of painting Tracey, who was our live model who posed in @studiocrescendoh for open studio today. The last time I painted her, her hair was purple. Today, it was more tangerine-ish.

November 06, 2017

Looking out on the morning rainI used to feel so uninspiredAnd when I knew I had to face another dayLord, it made me feel so tiredBefore the day I met you, life was so unkindBut you're the key to my peace of mind

November 01, 2017

FEATHERSI recently read a review about a book titled The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum (David Dobbs, The New York Times, September 24, 2017). The book presents research that dates back to Darwin ... showing that though feathers eventually became instruments for flight, their original function was to enhance male birds' sexual appeal. Beauty first. Flight second. Makes me ponder the facets needed for existence and survival. Aesthetics affect how we treat each other. So do pragmatics and skills. They are all related to survival and evolution.

RESISTANCERecently, a person asked me regarding my resistance art: "When will the resistance be done?" In other words, when will you shut the fuck up? To which I said: "I refuse to answer such an absurd, hypothetical question." The question reflects a mindset that thinks that checks and balances are a waste of time because they are inconvenient for those who'd rather defer to power, give power a break, look the other way when power misbehaves ... even at the risk of ushering in totalitarianism. The existence of a free press irritates those who want power to have free reign. They ask slightly differently worded yet equally absurd questions like ... "When will the reporting end?" "When will the probing end?" "When will the investigating end?"

Not too long ago, I saw an interview that a U.S. Senator gave a reporter. He was asked if our democracy was in jeopardy. And he said that though we have much to be concerned about, we still have a critical mass of people staying vigilant ... and we still have a free and robust press. For some reason, I burst into tears when I heard that answer because I feel we are at such a dangerous precipice where all of that could collapse.

FLIGHTAfter reading that piece about feathers, I did some research about feathers and flight. I learned that in order to fly, we first need to overcome our own WEIGHT (i.e., gravity), then we need to create an upward force called LIFT, then we need to generate THRUST for forward motion, and finally, to keep moving and eventually fly, we need to overcome the RESISTANCE of the air called "drag."

As stated by artist Maya Lin, "To fly, we need resistance."

I can't help but get choked up thinking about the tireless, beautiful feathers who ensure that we evolve, survive, and fly not in spite of, but BECAUSE of our vigilance, and multi-faceted resistance.

October 26, 2017

578 Barbara with a Braid9x12 inches :: original oil painting on paperClick here to Bid or Buy Now---What a treat to paint one of my favorite models today: Barbara. I've painted her many times but this was the first time she had her hair in a braid. So cute.